National Assembly Speaker Denies Inviting Opposition to Renew Talks; Says He Is Tired of Offering Dialogues.

Paragraph 1: Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq said on Friday that he did not invite the opposition to resume negotiations during a meeting held with MNA Malik Muhammad Amir Dogar and Federal Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry. Paragraph 2: The discussion took place before the national session and covered details about the upcoming Independence Day ceremony. Paragraph 3: Sadiq said there was no proposal to start or restart talks between the government and opposition benches in that meeting. Paragraph 4: He asked for the names of the opposition members who would be present at the ceremony, but the speaker claimed that there was no other conversation on negotiation. Paragraph 5: Sadiq added that if the minister and MNA had discussed the issue separately, he was unaware of it. Paragraph 6: He said he has made previous efforts to facilitate dialogue, but has now stopped inviting the opposition. Paragraph 7: The speaker stressed that political issues can be resolved only through direct dialogue, not through media statements. Paragraph 8: He said the opposition should sit together at the table for negotiations to happen. Paragraph 9: Regarding a parliamentary committee formed for political dialogue, he said no opposition members approached him with a request to restore it. Paragraph 10: He noted that the PTI had chosen its Leader of the Opposition expecting him to negotiate, but that the line of permission may be absent. Paragraph 11: Sadiq said staff allocated to PTI committee chairs would be returned if the committee chairpersons relinquished them, and the Secretariat would use them accordingly. Paragraph 12: The speaker remains open to meeting the Leader of the Opposition, either in his chamber or a committee room, and has offered to vacate his chair to facilitate the meeting. Paragraph 13: He questioned whether the opposition genuinely wants to negotiate, concluding that the ‘real issue’ is that they do not want to.”